Century-old WWI memorial left overgrown, ignored in Williamsburg, Brooklyn

A tiny green refuge in Brooklyn honoring locals who died fighting in World War I is tucked away in a 3,000-square-foot park – mysteriously padlocked most days and hidden under overgrown brush.

Few get to enjoy the city-owned Memorial Gore’s beauty since its biggest backers died, as the Williamsburg park remains in a state of neglect and indefinitely shuttered – save for special events like Armistice Day or Memorial Day.

When the park — anchored by a stone monument honoring 83 local soldiers who died in the war — first fell into disrepair in the early 1980s, community activists Guido and Tish Cianciotta helped restore it to its former glory, even replacing a stolen eagle atop the monument sculpted by the Piccirilli Brothers of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.

“Tish and Guido [Cianciotta], they used to be the ones really putting forth the effort to clean it up – certainly, it looked better when they were alive,” said Paul Kelterborn of the neighborhood group Friends of Cooper Park. 

But in the years since the couple died in 2021 and 2023, respectively, the park — located at the busy intersection of Bushwick, Metropolitan and Maspeth avenues — has become overgrown and poorly maintained, locals told The Post.

“We’re not really honoring the memory of those who died with how it is currently,” said Kelterborn whose group has worked to advocate for the park in recent months.

The gore is managed by NYC Parks, but budget cuts by the Adams administration has caused the memorial, alongside other smaller city parks, to become neglected, Kelterborn said.

NYC Parks did not immediately respond to a request for comment about how long the park has been padlocked or why it’s mostly unavailable to the public.

The city purchased the park in 1894 for $2,500.

Though Friends of Cooper Park has contributed small beautification efforts like planting daffodils at the park, Kelterborn insisted a larger effort needs to be made by the city.

“This mayor has taken a lawnmower to the parks department,” he said.

The city’s latest budget from July saw a $20 million cut to the parks department – marking the department’s lowest share of funding in a decade, The City reported. 

Even photos taken as recently as last year show neatly pruned shrubs and a visible cobblestone walkway – a far cry from the park’s now-obstructed path.

“I don’t even know what side the entrance is on,” said Kelsey, 32, a nine-year resident of the area, who was unaware that one could enter the green space.

“It says memorial, but I thought it was unused space,” said Christopher Hartsfield, 38. “It’d be a good place to sit down.”

NYC Parks’ upkeep of Memorial Gore is “assisted” by the non-profit North Brooklyn Parks Alliance, according to the parks alliance’s website, though requests for comment from the non-profit were not returned.

Memorial Gore offers seating, according to city records, though the only benches to be found were located outside of the park on the sidewalk — facing truck traffic and congestion at the busy Williamsburg intersection.

There have been more than 30 crashes at the intersection since August 2019 – including four pedestrian crashes, seven cyclist crashes and 20 motorist crashes, according to NYC Crash Mapper. 

Council Member Jen Gutierrez helmed a four-part series on Maspeth Avenue near the gore this summer showcasing “the potential of the plaza and highlighted the need for traffic calming and improved public spaces in our neighborhood,” a spokesperson for the council member told The Post.

Friends of Cooper Park is also pushing to implement a permanent pedestrian walkway on Maspeth Avenue adjacent to the gore, which 41-year-old Christian Dominguez, who owns the neighborhood bar Easy Lover across the street, says he supports. 

“People don’t even know it’s a memorial … no one can pay respect to the memorial if it’s fenced off,” Dominquez said.